Global equities are rallying after week from hell but investors ‘remain on the defensive’

AP/Mark Lennihan

Global markets are rallying today, with Asian markets closing on the up and European markets rising on open.
US equities are looking up after a punishing week which saw a major yield curve inversion and continued trade war escalation.
"Although treasury yields are climbing away from record lows on Friday as some tranquility returns to markets, the movements in the bond markets are poised to remain on investors radars in the week ahead," according to Lukman Otunuga, Senior Research Analyst at FXTM.
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US stocks are set to rally Friday following a week from hell in which global markets tumbled two days in a row.

Global equities have rebounded after a turbulent week for traders. US futures are rising, as are European stocks on opening, while Asian markets have rallied on close.

After Wednesday’s "bloodbath," where the yield curve inverted and China announced tariff counter measures on the US, markets are set to breathe a sigh of relief.

"In the US, bulls defended the herd yesterday as the Dow and S&P 500 stabilized after Wednesday’s bloodbath," said Neil Wilson, chief markets analyst at Markets.com in an email. "The tech stocks were bruised on ongoing China fears, however, leaving the Nasdaq weaker."

"Investors remain on the defensive but the glut of negative yields on bonds and drop in US yields undoubtedly forces them up the risk curve as they seek returns, offering support to high quality stocks and defensive sectors," Wilson added.

However, going into the weekend stocks look much more positive, according to Lukman Otunuga, Senior Research Analyst at FXTM.

"Some semblance of stability is returning to Asian markets on Friday after China hinted at more fiscal support for its economy. While European markets are set to open cautiously higher as investors closely monitor the Treasury yields, gains may be limited by the general unease and uncertainty which is shrouding financial markets," Otunuga said in an email.

"Although treasury yields are climbing away from record lows on Friday as some tranquility returns to markets, the movements in the bond markets are poised to remain on investors radars in the week ahead," he added.

Here’s how global stocks look at 10:20 am in London (5:20 am EST)

US stocks are set to rise with both futures S&P 500 and Dow both rising 1% while the Nasdaq is up 1.3%.
Europe’s markets opened on the up, with both the German Dax and Euro Stoxx 50 rising 0.9% and 1.1% respectively.
In Asia, stocks largely rallied on close, with the Shanghai Composite and Hang Seng up 0.3% and 0.8% respectively while Japan’s Nikkei fell 0.2%.
In commodities, Gold fell 0.4%, but both Brent and WTI Crude Oil were up 1.2%.

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